December 05, 2007

Peru's "Mexican" Beef Dish

The first time I tasted Peru’s seco de carne, I thought I was in the wrong country. This beef and cilantro dish could have been served at a market fonda in Mexico. It had all the right flavors—beef, cilantro, onion, garlic and green chiles.

Add rice, beans and tortillas, and you would have a totally Mexican meal. But I was eating this in Lima. Not so strange, though, because foods from Mexico trickled down to Peru during the Spanish colonial era.

Seco means dry, and seco de carne has little sauce. What makes the flavor so bright is a last minute squeeze of lime juice. This, too, is a practice in Mexico, where lime wedges accompany soups, meats and even tacos, all of which taste better with a tangy splash of citrus.

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Peru's "Mexican" Beef Dish

The first time I tasted Peru’s seco de carne, I thought I was in the wrong country. This beef and cilantro dish could have been served at a market fonda in Mexico. It had all the right flavors—beef, cilantro, onion, garlic and green chiles.

Add rice, beans and tortillas, and you would have a totally Mexican meal. But I was eating this in Lima. Not so strange, though, because foods from Mexico trickled down to Peru during the Spanish colonial era.

Seco means dry, and seco de carne has little sauce. What makes the flavor so bright is a last minute squeeze of lime juice. This, too, is a practice in Mexico, where lime wedges accompany soups, meats and even tacos, all of which taste better with a tangy splash of citrus.